Professional Philosophy
Excellence without burnout: how the science of resilience, confidence, and psychological flexibility helps athletes and performers keep showing up.
Photo by Hugo Castillo
What is Performance Excellence?
Performance excellence is the consistent demonstration of efforts at the highest level of a performer’s capabilities that is beneficial for overall wellbeing by managing the available resources at any given time.
So, what does that mean? When asked about the successes in my own athletic career, I usually say that I was the last one left. I was never the most talented in the rink (or on the piste), but I kept showing up. This should not be confused with dogged persistence at the expense of your overall wellbeing. To me, performance excellence can only occur when we are flourishing physically and mentally (see Westerhof & Keyes, 2010). Achievement is not the same as excellence. You can achieve goals while languishing in your wellbeing, but you cannot have performance excellence without flourishing. That’s why I don’t use the term mental “toughness” because the word “tough” implies a breaking point, and I will never ask my clients to go until their breaking point. I use the word “resilience” because it refers to the ability to absorb and adapt (Özdemir, 2019). You show up on Monday because Saturday’s game doesn’t define you but showing up mean recognizing the reality of today.
The greatest gift my parents gave me as sports parents was the personal responsibility for my career. I started figure skating at eight years old and quickly specialized in the sport. At the beginning of every season, my parents asked me if I was still enjoying my sport and if I wanted to continue. The act of making that choice enhanced my intrinsic motivation because I was committing to the training. Motivation isn't something a coach or parent installs in an athlete, it's something that grows when three basic needs are met: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy, the sense that the choice is genuinely yours. Competence, the sense that you're capable of meeting the challenge. Relatedness, the sense that people who matter to you are with you in it. My parents didn't manufacture my motivation by pushing harder. They created the conditions for it by handing the choice back to me every year (Deci & Ryan, 1985).
References
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
Özdemir, N. (2019). The investigation of elite athletes’ psychological resilience. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 7(10), 47-57. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v7i10.4323
Westerhof, G. J., & Keyes, C. L. (2010). Mental illness and mental health: The two continua model across the lifespan. Journal of adult development, 17(2), 110-119.
Consulting Philosophy
An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach
Being a great athlete or performer means being uncomfortable much of the time. In fact, we intentionally make ourselves uncomfortable by believing we can achieve things that often seem impossible. Sports and performing arts are both systems with built in processes and inherent failures. The process is purposefully uncomfortable and requires rapid adaptability, which is difficult if we are constantly questioning our own thoughts. In learning more about the psychology of confidence, I started to wonder how a constant internal battle of questioning our own competence might eventually mean we don't trust ourselves. Part of the problem is that fighting a thought often backfires: the harder you try not to think about missing a shot or blanking on stage, the more that exact thought pushes its way back in, since some part of your mind has to keep checking for it just to avoid it (Wegner, 1994).So, instead of changing the content of our thoughts I want to help you modify your relationship with the thoughts. This is the main objective of Acceptance Commitment Therapy; it's called psychological flexibility (ACT; Hayes et al., 2012). Instead of asking "is this true?" we ask how we will act whether it's true or not. As a client, you will often hear, "Ok, what's next?"
How to achieve psychological flexibility (the ACT hexaflex)
Values clarification
What’s your “Why?”
Contact with the present moment
What’s happening right now?
Cognitive defusion
You are not your thoughts.
Acceptance / willingness
Be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Self-as-context
You can observe your thoughts like the ticker on a TV screen.
Committed action
Do it anyway.
References
Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Wegner, D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychological Review, 101(1), 34–52. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.1.34
Performance Breakdowns
Performance breaks down when we try to control what we're feeling instead of what we're doing. It's not the anxious thought or the racing heart that derails a performance, it's the fight against having them, what's known as psychological inflexibility. Two things drive that fight: avoidance, when we try to push away or escape a difficult thought or feeling, and fusion, when we get so tangled up in a thought that it starts dictating our actions instead of just passing through. The goal was never to make the nerves go away. It's to keep acting in line with what matters to you while they're there.
Trying to avoid or control uncomfortable internal experiences
Sounds like: “Big emotions are a weakness”
Losing Contact with the present moment
Looks like: Worrying about the outcome in the middle of the game.
Cognitive Fusion
Sounds like: “I am a nervous competitor.”
Self-as-content: The stories you tell yourself
Sounds like: “My thoughts define who I am.”
Others-as-content: The stories you tell yourself…about everyone else.
Sounds like: “My coach doesn’t like me.” or “She didn’t deserve to win.”
Inaction
Looks like: Not showing up.
A gap between actions and values
Looks like: My parents told me I had to be here.
What does working together look like?
Whatever you're working through, we start from the same place: not fighting what you're feeling, but figuring out how to act while you're feeling it. From there, the specific tools depend on what's actually getting in the way.
When anxiety takes over.
Under pressure, your attention narrows toward threat: the missed shot, the bad review, the one thing that could go wrong (Attentional Control Theory; Eysenck et al., 2007). Skilled performers sometimes start overthinking movements that used to be automatic, which is where "paralysis by analysis" comes from (Masters et al., 1993). And everyone has their own zone: some people perform best calm, others perform best fired up; so we are looking for your target zone (Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning; Hanin, 2000). In session, this often looks like grounding exercises (5-4-3-2-1, feeling your feet, a slow blink).
When motivation dips.
Lack of motivation can happen when we aren’t acting in accordance with our values. So, I like to get to know you by exploring what is most important to you. Motivation also comes back to whether you feel the choice to keep going is genuinely yours (Locus of Control; Rotter, 1966), and whether you're chasing mastery or just trying to avoid looking bad (2x2 Achievement Goal Framework; Elliot & McGregor, 2001). Using your values, we will set goals together mixing short and long-term, outcome and process, so the plan reflects what actually matters to you (Bird et al., 2025).
When confidence is shaky.
Confidence isn't something we talk you into, it's something built through small, repeated proof that you can handle hard things (Self-Efficacy Theory; Bandura, 1977). It's also shaped by how you explain setbacks to yourself: "I choked" versus "that one rep didn't go my way" can frame these challenges as momentary or a personal quality (Explanatory Style; Seligman, 1991). To start building confidence, I use tools to help you identify both your strengths and the gaps in where you want to be to balance feeling successful and working through challenges (Castillo et al., 2022; Castillo & Bird, 2022).
When resilience is the question.
How threatening a situation feels usually comes down to a quiet calculation: what's at stake, versus what resources do I have to meet it (Cognitive Appraisal Theory; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). We work on your mental adaptability so that you can get creative with meeting each new situation. Sustained passion and perseverance toward long-term goals matters here too (Grit; Duckworth, 2016). We will review both how you felt during your performance and how you felt when it was over. This self-awareness helps you notice when things start to feel threatening rather than just a puzzle to solve. I also want to help you use you identity as an athlete or performer as an asset not a cage. Although we are focused on your performance area, I want to know what makes up the whole you because those parts help you be resilience in those less-than-ideal performance situations.
When you're in the moment itself.
Being in the “flow” is a popular concept in performance excellence, but it’s quite difficult to find that state consistently. We are more often in the “clutch” state where we have a specific task to complete to reach a target (score that free throw to tie up the game or get the director’s attention back in the middle of the audition). Flow (losing yourself in the task) and clutch (laser focus in a make-or-break moment) are both real, useful states; they just show up under different conditions (Swann et al., 2017). Creating mental images can help prepare for both, rehearsing not just what you'll do, but who, what, when, where, and why (Williams et al., 2013). This is also where your individual zone comes in clutch (pun intended) because it signals to your body that it’s getting ready to do something important.
Timing.
The middle of the season is not the time to expect drastic changes (sorry to be the bearer of bad news), but sometimes Band-Aids are necessary. We can work on those short-term results, but lasting progress requires long-term work too. There’s also on-stage or on-field work and in-session work; we will practice the skills together before I send you out to try it on your own. While I am happy to work with you on-field, I can’t be at every performance or game, so you’ll be responsible for practicing some skills on your own and reflecting on your experience. For that long-term work, off-season tends to center on goal setting and values clarification. In-season we will continuously work on stress management and distancing from those unhelpful thoughts and feelings. I’m happy to do quick check-ins or longer sessions depending on your needs and ability to focus. I get it; we all have different capacities!
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.
Bird, M. D., Chapman, C., & Jackman, P. C. (2025). Goal-setting strategies: A primer for sport coaches. Strategies, 38(5), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/08924562.2025.2523247
Castillo, E. A., & Bird, M. D. (2022). The strengths-based performance profile (SBPP): A method for strengths-spotting and application in single-session consultations with athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 13(3), 180–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2021.1988782
Castillo, E. A., Bird, M. D., & Chow, G. M. (2022). Implementation and evaluation of a standardized performance profile intervention with collegiate athletes: A comparison of the original and revised techniques. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 34(3), 646–664. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1862358
Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.
Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(3), 501–519.
Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7(2), 336–353.
Hanin, Y. L. (2000). Emotions in sport. Human Kinetics.
Jones, M., Meijen, C., McCarthy, P. J., & Sheffield, D. (2009). A theory of challenge and threat states in athletes. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(2), 161–180.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Masters, R. S. W., Polman, R. C. J., & Hammond, N. V. (1993). "Reinvestment": A dimension of personality implicated in skill breakdown under pressure. Personality and Individual Differences, 14(5), 655–666.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 1–28.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1991). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. Knopf.
Swann, C., Piggott, D., Schweickle, M., & Vella, S. A. (2017). A review of scientific progress in flow in sport and exercise: Normal science, crisis, and a progressive shift. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 29(4), 460–476.
Williams, S. E., Cooley, S. J., Newell, E., Weibull, F., & Cumming, J. (2013). Seeing the difference: Developing effective imagery scripts for athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 4(2), 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2013.781560
Diversity and Culture
Every client is made up of many overlapping parts: their race, gender, sexuality, religion, family background, socioeconomic status, and more, but no single piece of that tells me who they are (Krane & Waldron, 2021). AASP itself defines diversity broadly, including but not limited to age, ability status, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status, and calls on its members to pursue lifelong education in multicultural competence (Association for Applied Sport Psychology, n.d.). I take that seriously, and I don't assume I understand someone's experience because I've taken a class about multiculturalism. Instead, I practice cultural humility, an ongoing stance of curiosity and self-examination rather than a credential you finish earning (Tervalon & Murray-García, 1998). I also recognize that I have my own experiences that inform conscious and unconscious biases, and those require constant self-awareness and reflection. In practice, cultural humility means asking questions instead of assuming I already know the answer, being honest with a client when there's something about their experience I don't understand, and staying curious rather than defensive when I get something wrong.
References
Association for Applied Sport Psychology. (n.d.). AASP position statement on human diversity. https://appliedsportpsych.org/diversity-and-inclusion/aasp-position-statement-on-human-diversity/
Krane, V., & Waldron, J. J. (2021). A renewed call to queer sport psychology. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(5), 469–490. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1764665
Tervalon, M., & Murray-García, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2010.0233
What ages do you work with?
Sports and performing arts are a wonderful way for children to develop physically, emotionally, and socially. Participating in something they love can help build confidence and resilience. I generally work directly with athletes and performers starting around 15 years old, with ages 13 to 15 handled case-by-case. Below that, I believe a child's parents are the biggest influence on their mindset, so I’m happy to work with the parents on best mental practices.
Reflecting on your own thinking, really examining a thought rather than just having it, is a skill that develops over time, and it isn't fully in place for most kids before early adolescence (Piaget, 1972). Younger athletes' capacity to engage meaningfully in this kind of work depends heavily on where they are developmentally, which is part of why parents and coaches carry more of the influence at younger ages (Visek et al., 2013). I'm happy to work with the parents of any client, at any age, since that partnership matters at every stage, not just the earliest ones.
For my athletes, part of it comes down to healthy sport participation. Most sport scientists recommend that kids sample a variety of sports and activities rather than specialize too early (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). A review of the literature found that most elite athletes didn't specialize until after age 12 and recommends that intense single-sport training generally be delayed until late adolescence to protect against injury, psychological stress, and burnout (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000; Jayanthi et al., 2013; Wiersma, 2000). This exploration period in sports is a great time to establish a healthy mental game focusing on learning new skills and forging positive relationships with teammates and coaches.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness. (2000). Intensive training and sports specialization in young athletes. Pediatrics, 106(1), 154–157. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.106.1.154
Jayanthi, N., Pinkham, C., Dugas, L., Patrick, B., & LaBella, C. (2013). Sports specialization in young athletes: Evidence-based recommendations. Sports Health, 5(3), 251–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738112464626
Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development, 15(1), 1–12.
Visek, A. J., Harris, B. S., & Blom, L. C. (2013). Mental training with youth sport teams: Developmental considerations and best-practice recommendations. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 4(1), 1–11.
Wiersma, L. D. (2000). Risks and benefits of youth sport specialization: Perspectives and recommendations. Pediatric Exercise Science, 12(1), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.12.1.13
Ethics and Professional Scope
So, what is a Mental Performance Consultant?
Also known as, why aren’t you called a Sport Psychologist?
I chose to become a mental performance consultant because I'm truly invested in helping athletes and performers use their mind to reach their highest capabilities. I specialized in Sport and Performance Psychology for both my master's and doctorate degree (currently pursuing) because I want to be able to serve my clients with both my extensive athletic experience and a broad and deep academic foundation.
The title confuses people, and I understand why. There are two separate but overlapping areas of care: mental health and mental performance. An athlete might need one or both, and the person best suited to help isn't always obvious from a title. A mental performance consultant isn't automatically trained to treat mental health conditions, and a licensed mental health clinician, even an excellent one, doesn't automatically understand the culture, language, and pressures specific to sport.
For mental health, the credential to look for is licensure or pre-licensure status, and they may be a psychologist, counselor, clinical social worker, or marriage and family therapist. For mental performance, the nationally recognized title in the field is CMPC, Certified Mental Performance Consultant, through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. CMPCs are trained specifically in applying mental performance principles to sport and performance settings. I am currently in the mentorship phase of CMPC certification and anticipate taking the exam in 2027.
While I am able to work with clients who have a mental health diagnosis, I do not diagnose or treat mental illness. I am happy to collaborate with your clinical mental health provider, and I will provide a referral when I screen for signs of a concern that falls outside my scope. As an aspiring CMPC, I follow the AASP Code of Ethical Principles and Standards (AASP, 2024). I also adhere to the U.S. Center for SafeSport Code (U.S. Center for SafeSport, 2024) to help ensure athletes and performers I work with are protected from abuse and misconduct.
Helping athletes be their best doesn't require me to be everything to them. It requires me to be excellent at exactly what I'm trained for, honest about what I'm not, and clear enough about the difference that you know which kind of support you're actually getting.
SafeSport
As coach member of USA Fencing, I am required to be SafeSport trained and have a current background check. Additionally, as an adult participant who has regular contact with minors in a United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee governed sport, I am a mandated reporter and thus required to report suspected child abuse (including sexual abuse) to law enforcement and the Center for SafeSport.
SafeSport Contact Info
Report online here:
https://safesport.i-sight.com/portal
Call here (Operator available Mon-Fri 10am-4pm MST):
833-587-7233
References
Association for Applied Sport Psychology. (2024). Association for Applied Sport Psychology ethical principles and standards (M. Zito, C. Carter, T. Herzog, M. Kerulis, A. Muscat, T. Shigeno, L. Skvarla, T. L. Chu, S. Rose, C. Wahl, & J. Watson, Eds.). https://appliedsportpsych.org/about-the-association-for-applied-sport-psychology/ethics/
U.S. Center for SafeSport. (2024). SafeSport code for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement. https://uscenterforsafesport.org/response-and-resolution/safesport-code/